Pubs are a valuable and irreplaceable part of the social fabric and bring an immense amount of social value to communities. But in the face of an uncertain future this LGiU project, in association with CAMRA, was set up to develop practical tools that could help unlock the social and community value of pubs.

High rents, rising costs, and competition from large PubCos are causing around 20 establishments close every week. When pubs are closed, sold off, or redeveloped, communities potentially lose an important local hub and an access point for local services.

Recent legislation has extended the rights and powers of authorities and communities to shape their local area but they need shared understanding, confidence, and drive to make full use of them.

Based on a series of interviews with councillors and officers, as well as a survey conducted by CAMRA on behalf of the All Party Parliamentary Save the Pub Group, the report, Public Houses: how councils and communities can save pubs, outlines a range of approaches and case studies to support proactive councils.

The second stage of the project is a series of regional summits. The LGiU-CAMRA Community PubsSummit will bring together stakeholders in different regions to discuss the challenges faced by community pubs locally and to investigate how councils and communities can work together to address them.